COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The Holy Cross men's ice hockey team defeated Air Force Academy, 4-1, in Atlantic Hockey Association action Friday night at Cadet Ice Arena.
 
The Crusaders have won two straight and move to 4-12-1 (3-7-1 AHA) while the Falcons have lost their last four and fall to 6-9-2 (2-6-1 AHA).
 
THE GOALTENDERS:

• Crusaders: junior Jason Grande - 3-2-0, 28 saves, .966 save percentage.
• Falcons: Guy Blessing - 5-7-1, 24 saves, .923 save percentage.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Crusaders got on the power play just three minutes into the contest. After passing the puck around the zone, junior Matt Guerra found senior Alex Peterson just above the faceoff dot. Peterson faked a shot before finding junior Tyler Ghirardosi on the doorstep, who buried the puck for his third goal of the season.
• Holy Cross earned their second man-up advantage halfway through the third period. After possessing the puck in the offensive zone, junior Jack Ricketts took a one-timer from the slot, collecting his own rebound, and scoring on the second try.
• The Falcons cut the lead in half with a power play goal of their own with 2:38 remaining in the contest on a blue line strike by Will Gavin.
• Two empty net goals by Luke Thorne and Matt Guerra in a 28 second span put the game away in the Crusaders favor with 49 seconds and 21 seconds remaining in the game, respectively.

 
BEYOND THE BOX:

• Holy Cross scored on both of their power play opportunities while killing off seven of their eight penalties.
• Ricketts extended his team lead in goals to seven, which is tied for third in the AHA.

UP NEXT:

• The two teams will meet again tomorrow, Saturday Dec. 3.
• Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET.

FOLLOW THE CRUSADERS 
Be sure to follow the Holy Cross men's ice hockey team — and all things Crusader Athletics — on social media!
Twitter - @HCrossMHockey | @goholycross
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